Tuesday, August 11, 2015

‘Patriots’ Heed ‘Call to Action’ to ‘Protect’ Montana Mine from a Baffled U.S. Forest Service

The
Oath Keepers have shown up in the tiny western Montana town of Lincoln,
answering a “call to action” issued earlier this month to protect the
“constitutional rights” of a local mine owner in a dispute with the
federal government.

“Pacific Patriot Network under the leadership of the Oath Keepers has
set up a security mission to protect the White Hope Mine and related
claims in Lewis & Clark County, MT,” the announcement read. “The
immediate aim of this operation is to act as a buffer between the miners
and any unlawful action by the United States Forest Service (USFS).”

That fight the Oath Keepers have promised has a familiar ring to it.

Just as the Oath Keepers and others claimed ahead of a protest and gathering of militiamen
in nearby Medford, Ore., the Oath Keepers and III percenters claimed
they were there to protect the “constitutional rights” of a local mine
owner in a dispute with the Bureau of Land Management.

Strangely, even
as the matter was being adjudicated in the normal process for such
disputes, the mine owners claimed their rights were being violated. They
claimed they were at risk of being burned out of their mine.

In Oregon, BLM officials were unsure how to respond to the
accusations of usurping the Constitution. Likewise, Forest Service
officials in the regional Montana offices are searching for what might
have summoned the Oath Keepers.

“These are a couple of guys who have been working this claim for a
couple of decades,” David Smith, regional spokesman for the Forest
Service, told Hatewatch. “They had an operating plan that expired last
year, and we’ve been working with them to get a new one approved. And
they also had a couple of compliance issues that we were working with
them to resolve. … They were agreeable to our suggestions.”

Smith said the “call to action” came out of the blue.

“We’ve been in a relationship with them for a long time, and we
wanted to make clear we wanted to work with them to get them up and
running so they can exercise their rights to mine that claim in
accordance with the law,” he said.

The Missoulian
explained that the dispute dates back to previous paper transactions
regarding the claim, including a change of jurisdiction from 1872 mining
laws to a newer federal law passed in 1955. The mine owners claim they
fall under the previous jurisdiction, in spite of previous court
rulings.

”We are grandfathered from the 1874 mining laws and that means we're
under state law,” mine owner George Kornec told reporters. “And this is
what it’s all about, that's why I’m standing up.”

At the center of the dispute is a new building erected on the site,
and how to get their plan into compliance with federal laws with the
building included.

“We have never said or planned to remove that structure that they
built,” Smith told Hatewatch. “What we have said is, how do you justify
having that structure within your operating plan? We have not ever said
that we would come in and remove the structure itself.”

Another concern that officials have involves a Department of
Environmental Quality mine-reclamation project next door to the White
Hope Mine, and trucks and other traffic coming to and from that site are
using the roadways heavily. “Our concern right now is we don’t want
people coming in back and forth on that road and interfering with the
contractors using it. Safety is a huge concern there. There are 40
people employed by that construction project,” Smith said.

The ruling on whether it was handled under 1872 or 1955 law came from
the courts, Smith said. “We just have the obligation to enforce the law
according to that ruling.”

Smith added that the case is not involved in litigation or
adjudication at any level, so there’s no forthcoming “day in court” that
might signal an end to the armed protest at the mine, as it did in
Oregon.

“Obviously, we’re not in a confrontation,” he said. “It’s not the
people who are there I’m worried about – it’s the ones from the fringe
who want to join in. And I’m worried about the safety of the people up
there. We don’t want to see things escalate, especially over an issue
that we have been working all along in a very cooperative way to
resolve.”

Sara Robinson has worked as an editor or columnist for several national magazines, on beats as varied as sports, travel, and the Olympics; and has contributed to over 80 computer games for EA, Lucasfilm, Disney, and many other companies. A native of California's High Sierra, she spent 20 years in Silicon Valley before moving to Vancouver, BC in 2004. She currently is pursuing an MS in Futures Studies at the University of Houston. You can reach her at srobinson@enginesofmischief.com.